Why clenching your fists can help you through painful moments

By CLAIRE BATES


Temptation: Clenching your fists can temporarily boost your willpower and self control


People facing unpleasant tasks from drinking medicine to passing on bad news could ease these painful moments by simply tensing their muscles.

A study published in the Consumer Research journal, found that clenching your fists temporarily boosts your self-control and willpower.

Iris Hung from the National University of Singapore and Aparna Labroo from the University of Chicago, put a group of volunteers through a range of self-control dilemmas that involved accepting short term pain for long term gain.

These included placing hands in icy water, drinking watered down vinegar, watching a charity appeal and resisting unhealthy foods.

The authors found participant's who tightened any muscle at the moment they faced an internal struggle were better able to withstand pain or discomfort and to resist tempting foods.

They wrote: 'Participants who were instructed to tighten their muscles, regardless of which muscles they tightened - hand, finger, calf or biceps - while trying to exert self-control demonstrated greater ability to withstand the pain, consume the unpleasant medicine or overcome tempting foods.'

However, if the volunteers tensed up too long beforehand they felt depleted by the time they had to make a choice.

The effect also relied on the choice being aligned with the participant's goals, so participants drank more of the unpleasant vinegar tonic if they had already said they wanted a healthier lifestyle.

The scientists concluded: 'The mind and the body are so closely tied together, merely clenching muscles can activate willpower.

'Thus simply engaging in these bodily actions, can serve as a non-conscious source to recruit willpower.'


source :dailymail

Posted in: Health